Pinworms(Pinworm Infection in Children and Adults, Enterobiasis)

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

Jay W. Marks, MD

Jay W. Marks, MD, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist. He graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and gastroenterology at UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Pinworms facts

Young children and their household members are at risk for pinworm infections.

Pinworms are visible. They range in size from 2-13 mm, are white, and resemble a worm but the pinworm eggs are small, transparent and can be seen only with a microscope.

Pinworm infections are spread person-to-person by ingesting pinworm eggs that have contaminated fingers, bedding, clothing or other items.

The symptoms of pinworm infection are discomfort and itching in the anal/rectal area. Children especially will scratch the rectal/anal area, get eggs on their fingers or underneath their fingernails and transport the infective eggs to bedding, toys, other humans, or back to themselves. The eggs hatch into larval forms in the small intestines and then progress to the large intestine where they mature, mate, and progress to the rectal/anal area where females deposit about 10 to 15 thousand eggs.

What is pinworm infection?

Pinworm infection is an infection of the large intestine and anal area by a small, white parasite that resembles a
"worm." The medical name for the parasite is Enterobius vermicularis, but it is commonly termed a pinworm in both the lay and medical literature. These parasites are also termed seatworms or threadworms, and the infections is medically termed enterobiasis or helminthiasis. Pinworms
and other parasitic worms (which, as a group, are termed helminths) feed off of the host animal by adsorbing nutrients from the host animal. Pinworm infections are the most common helminth infection that occurs in the US.

Are Pinworms Contagious?

Can my family become infected with pinworms from swimming pools?

Pinworm infections are rarely spread through the use of swimming pools.
Pinworm infections occur when a person swallows pinworm eggs picked up from
contaminated surfaces or fingers. Although chlorine levels found in pools are
not high enough to kill pinworm eggs, the presence of a small number of pinworm
eggs in thousands of gallons of water (the amount typically found in pools)
makes the chance of infection unlikely.

My little kids like to co-bathe - could this be how they are becoming
infected?

During this treatment time and two weeks after final treatment, it is a good
idea to avoid co-bathing and the reuse or sharing of washcloths. Showering may
be preferred to avoid possible contamination of bath water. Careful handling and
frequent changing of underclothing, night clothes, towels, and bedding can help
reduce infection, reinfection, and environmental contamination with pinworm
eggs. These items should be laundered in hot water, especially after each
treatment of the infected person and after each usage of washcloths until
infection is cleared.

Did my pets give me pinworms / can I give pinworms to my pets?

No. Humans are considered to be the only hosts of E. vermicularis which is
also known as the human pinworm.